In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

"Alright, tell the General that I understand. We will organize the troops to leave the defensive line when the time comes." Xiang An gritted his teeth and sat in the chair. After thinking for several minutes, he raised his head somewhat dejectedly and looked at Huang Xiaozhong.

Zijuan, Xiang Lu, and Jiang Chun were all sitting below, each with a different expression.

“Your uncle is getting impatient.” Xiang Lu shook his head, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

“But thinking about it carefully, now is indeed a good time to advance westward.” Jiang Chun glanced at Xiang An. “If we continue to hold our ground, I’m afraid the morale of the troops will become unstable.”

He was the only general from the Western Chu forces who survived Zhang Han's night raid on Linji a while ago, and after returning, he went back to Xiang An's command.

“Yes, I know.” Xiang An nodded and tapped the table. “This is indeed our best option right now, although it’s a risky move.”

"Second brother, you..." Zijuan seemed to know something and hesitated before speaking.

"I'm fine, Xiao Si. Just follow the General's orders. We have to rely on ourselves now." Xiang An pinched the bridge of his nose, a little annoyed. "If we had Qi reinforcements, we could be a bit more at ease."

Although Xiang Liang's forces were not small, they were insufficient when spread across the entire defensive line, not to mention the several cities that needed to be captured in the rear. The defense of Chu's now enormous territory also required considerable strength, as did the border with Qi. Due to previous events, the border situation was quite tense, and minor skirmishes occasionally occurred, but these were all suppressed by those above.

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Xiang An closed his eyes to rest for a few seconds, then opened them, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Notify the entire army to prepare to continue fighting."

Linji.

Zhang Han was putting on his armor.

Suddenly, he felt a cold wind on the side of his head and instinctively dodged.

"Tch." The figure in the shadows spat, twirled his blade, and vanished from the spot.

"An assassin?" Zhang Han frowned, drew his bronze sword, and cautiously sensed his surroundings.

After waiting for a while and confirming that the assassin had disappeared, Zhang Han silently put away his bronze sword.

"You're smart enough to leave after failing in one strike, otherwise I would have kept you here." With a cold snort, wiping the cold sweat from his face, Zhang Han sneered.

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Chapter 903 Attack on Dingtao

"General, are you saying there are assassins?" Jin Qixiu asked incredulously.

Zhang Han nodded solemnly. "That assassin was no weakling. If I hadn't dodged in time, I would probably be dead already. It was just a hair's breadth away."

"Moreover, ever since that assassin appeared, the air in my tent has tasted sweet, which must be some kind of poison, which is why I came to find you." Zhang Han sighed, somewhat helplessly.

That assassin was a master of poisons. If he hadn't previously served as the Minister of the Imperial Household in the palace, managing the emperor's private property and handling a wide variety of things every day, which broadened his knowledge, he might not have been able to identify the taste of the poison.

"It's good that the General is safe. You are our pillar of strength. It's good that you're alright." Jin Qixiu smiled, then sighed, "It's just that I heard the taxes have increased again recently. His Majesty..."

Zhang Han paused for a moment, then patted Jin Qixiu on the shoulder. "These things are not for us to consider. Right now, all we need to do is fight the next war well and win the next war."

Jin Qixiu pursed his lips and remained silent.

Zhang Han came from a prominent family and naturally didn't need to worry about these things. But Jin Qixiu's ancestors had all been commoners for generations. Only in his generation had a military general finally emerged, making him a significant figure. While he fought desperately on the front lines, his elderly parents were being endlessly exploited.

"After the war, the military pay should be enough to give my parents a better life, right?"

"I'll buy a house in the county, bring my parents there, get them married, and use the rest of the money to bribe officials." With that thought, Jin Qixiu made up the bed for Zhang Han, then pushed two chairs together and made do with sleeping there.

Zhang Han glanced at Jin Qixiu, smiled and shook his head. This guy is quite an innocent person.

I think I'll stay up later; I don't know if that assassin will come again.

Zihuai sat by the Wen River and swallowed hard.

That was close; if I hadn't slipped away in time, I might have been left there by Zhang Han.

"That feeling was even stronger than that of General Fan Hui," Zi Huai said with a hint of dejection.

Fan Hui was the strongest warrior in Liu Bang's army, the strongest of all the people Zi Huai had ever seen, but now, Zhang Han gave him the feeling that he was even stronger than Fan Hui.

"How could such an assassination attempt possibly succeed?"

His failed assassination attempt on Zhang Han left him feeling extremely frustrated.

"Is a weapon like this, after it's been polished, really a weapon?" He looked at his dagger and smiled helplessly.

If Zhang Han hadn't been overly cautious, he might have even died here if his first attack hadn't missed.

"Let's go back first and figure out another way." Shaking his head, Zihuai forced himself to calm down.

If you fail but manage to escape, then you can plan it again.

I definitely won't make a mistake next time.

He did not notice that after he left, Zhang Han's army marched out of Linji City at dawn.

The direction is due east, towards Dingtao.

No one knew any of this except Zhang Han's army.

To the east is Dingtao.

Xiang Liang was donning his armor, preparing to lead his army westward.

Like Xiang Yu and Xiang An, their armies operated smoothly and orderly. After dawn, they crossed the north-south defense line from Dingtao to Chengyang and continued westward.

However, after only half a day of progress, things took an unexpected turn.

"General, there's a large army with Qin military flags flying ten miles ahead," Huang Xiaozhong rushed over and anxiously reported to Xiang Liang.

"Hmm," Xiang Liang frowned, "Qin army."

Why were there Qin troops in this place?

Suddenly, Xiang Liang's pupils shrank.

He suddenly turned his head and looked at the army behind him.

We're already twenty li outside of Dingtao City.

"Retreat quickly"

Cold sweat broke out on his face as he shouted, "Go back!"

Then he turned to Huang Xiaozhong and said, "Xiaozhong, head north now and quickly inform Xiang Yu and Xiang An's armies to send reinforcements towards Dingtao."

"Yes," Huang Xiaozhong was about to clasp his hands in a fist salute when he stopped.

He looked down, staring blankly at the arrow that had emerged from his chest, somewhat incredulous.

Under Xiang Liang's shocked gaze, Huang Xiaozhong's eyes lost their luster, his body swayed, and he fell off his horse.

He looked angrily ahead and saw several lightly mounted archers fleeing in the direction he had come from.

Despite his anger and sorrow, Xiang Liang did not lose his mind. He roared and ordered the army to turn around and return to Dingtao.

However, with cavalry in front and infantry behind, it would definitely take some time to completely change formation.

During this time, Zhang Han's army, having had enough time to charge with all its might, reached Xiang Liang's front.

Ten miles is really not a long distance.

"Follow me and kill! In the past, I destroyed Wei; today, I will destroy Chu."

kill

"Zhang Han roared with laughter and shouted slogans, leading his hundreds of thousands of troops like a mountain, crushing towards Xiang Liang's army.

He did this with complete confidence.

The troops and supplies sent to support Xianyang arrived yesterday.

"Hold your ground and don't let yourself be overwhelmed."

Xiang Liang surveyed the entire army and noticed that many soldiers were panicked. He quickly shouted, "Don't retreat! Turn around and kill the enemy!"

"

Xiang Liang enjoyed great prestige in the army, and under his encouragement, the soldiers of Western Chu were prepared to meet the attack.

Roaring Fear and Roaring Fear collided.

Both sides were in high spirits and full of momentum, but Zhang Han's side clearly had the upper hand in terms of numbers.

This is a wide and flat section of road in the middle of several large rivers, and Zhang Hanwu's large group of people have completely pressed forward.

"Damn it!" Xiang Liang's eyes were bloodshot. He swept away a soldier with a single spear thrust, so angry that he wanted to grind his teeth to dust.

Another sneak attack

Is Zhang Han incapable of fighting without surprise attacks?

"Don't panic, counterattack and fight back!" he shouted, brandishing his spear and spurring his warhorse, searching for something among the Qin army while repelling the enemy soldiers.

He found it.

"Zhang Han, you Qin dog, die!"

"

With a roar, Xiang Liang spurred his horse and charged towards Zhang Han's direction.

Zhang Han had naturally anticipated this, and with a swift movement of his spear, he blocked Xiang Liang's powerful and heavy thrust.

"Old man, today is your death day!" Zhang Han, covered in blood—the blood of Chu soldiers—laughed as he charged forward.

"Hmph, you brat, prepare to die!"

Xiang Liang gritted his teeth and thrust his spear forward toward Zhang Han's chest, but Zhang Han easily deflected it.

Their muscles tensed, their eyes bloodshot, as they fought a frenzied battle. (Please remember: Free, fastest updates, no anti-theft measures.)

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Chapter 904 Battle of Dingtao

Yi Ke made a hand gesture, summoning a spell. A burst of flames shot towards Zhang Han's army formation, but it was just a burst of flames.

Zhang Han's army was too large, so large that individual bravery alone could not change the course of the battle. Xiang Liang's army was suppressed and had to fight and retreat, moving at a snail's pace towards Dingtao City.

Xiang Liang dodged Zhang Han's thrust and then thrust his own spear at him. When that missed, he lashed out horizontally, making Zhang Han wince in pain.

"Though he's an old dog, he can still be ferocious and die!" Zhang Han gritted his teeth, laughing angrily. He endured Xiang Liang's powerful pull, clamped down on the shaft of Xiang Liang's spear, and thrust the butt of his spear towards Xiang Liang's head.

With nowhere to dodge, Xiang Liang suddenly exerted his strength, his legs leaving the horse's armor. He flipped in the air, pulling Zhang Han off the horse with him. The two men, falling from their horses, involuntarily let go of each other and rolled several times on the ground.